Some key points to note are :
.... In the year to end March 2018 (Y2EndMar18), the Employment Rate for Northamptonshire decreased again and now stands at 76.4%. Across the county this indicator has been decreasing since September 2016 (when it stood at 80.1%), although the county's rate is still higher than the national average (75.2%). However, the gap between county and national rates is narrowing due to the fact that the England employment rate has been on an upward trend since December 2012. Results across the county's boroughs and districts are mixed, but it should be noted that Corby shows a 6.3%-point decrease in the employment rate between the Y2EndDec17 and Y2EndMar18 (although please remember that these results come from the APS survey and smaller geographies have greater swings in confidence levels).
.... The Unemployment Rate for the county has also decreased for the second quarter after a run of rises. The county rate now stands at 4.7% but is higher than the national average of 4.4%. The highest unemployment rate is found amongst 16-24 year olds.
.... The Economic Inactivity Rate for Northamptonshire for the Y2EndMar18 stands at 19.9%, the highest quarterly figure since the beginning of our records in 2007.
.... The proportion of persons who work in the public sector in Northamptonshire at 16.5% is the third lowest amongst the Economic Comparators behind Gloucestershire and Luton and lower than the national average (20.7%).
.... At 29.5%, the proportion people in employment in Northamptonshire who work 45 or more hours per week is the highest amongst the Economic Comparators and 5%-points higher than the national average (24.1%). This is driven by the proportion of people working long hours in Corby (39.8%) and South Northamptonshire (37.5%).